CNN Hero of the Year Turns Vacant Lots on Chicago’s South Side into Flower Farms

CNN Hero of the Year Turns Vacant Lots on Chicago’s South Side into Flower Farms

Quilen Blackwell – credit, CNN Newsroom, released Hope and opportunity are blossoming on the South Side of Chicago where a man and his wife have used flowers to help poor communities turn over a new leaf. Running two nonprofits, Southside Blooms and Chicago Eco House, Quilen Blackwell and his wife Hannah Bonham are helping at-risk youth find opportunity while simultaneously cutting into the billions Americans spend every year importing cut flowers from the tropics. Blackwell’s work earned him the CNN Hero of the Year Award at the 19th edition of the honor, organized by the cable news outlet with support from corporate sponsors. The award came with a $100,000 prize to support the Blackwell’s work. Southside Blooms turns vacant lots on Chicago’s South Side into eco-friendly flower farms, employing local young people to grow, harvest, arrange, and sell flowers at his group’s nonprofit flower shop. Why flowers? When Blackwell, a Wisconsin native, moved to Chicago to attend ministry school foll…